Microsoft wanted to launch its new AI-supported search function “Recall” in mid-June, but this has now been postponed. Security researchers had warned urgently of a data protection disaster.
After heavy criticism, Microsoft is postponing the introduction of a new Windows search function. It was originally supposed to be available on June 18 with a new type of PC. Microsoft announced that the function, called “Recall”, which is supposed to save screen recordings every few seconds, will be tested at a later date on a smaller scale in the “Windows Insider” program.
The decision is “rooted in our commitment to provide a trusted, secure and robust experience for all customers and to seek additional feedback before making the feature available to all Copilot+ PC users,” the internet giant said.
Delay due to lack of data protection
Microsoft and manufacturers of Windows computers plan to launch the new PC category on June 18th, which is to be more tailored to use with artificial intelligence. The device class is called “Copilot+PC”, based on Microsoft’s AI assistant called “Copilot”. The PC class was already introduced in May. “Recall” was actually supposed to be usable on these PCs from the start.
But AI security researchers warned of a data protection disaster after the announcement of “Recall”. They came to the conclusion that cyber attackers could also access the lists. Last week, Microsoft announced better security for “Recall” data. In addition, the feature would no longer be switched on by default when setting up the PC, but users would have to activate it themselves. The criticism remained, and now the delay has followed.
Find information on your PC faster
According to the company, the AI-supported search function is intended to make it easier to find information on a PC. The software first creates numerous screenshots of the PC pages used and then analyzes what can be seen on the many screenshots and creates a directory.
This should help, for example, if you can no longer remember the name of a travel website you visited, but still know that it featured palm trees and a beach. Then you should be able to find the page again by searching for “palm trees and beach”.